Life Saver – NoseFrida, The Snotsucker

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No moms want their little ones to suffer from a cold. But when your little one is all stuffed up, has a running nose and sounds like she/he is having trouble breathing, what to do? Many pediatricians recommend using the plastic bulb that you get from the hospital; but I find them to be inefficient with a very stuffy nose and couldn’t really suck out the persistent and stubborn boogers.

My good friend is a pediatrician and bought the best gift for us: The Snotsucker by NoseFrida. It’s such a life saver! You basically place the blue part of the tube near the baby’s nostril and the brave parent can suck via the tube to get the snot out. Don’t worry, there is a filter so you won’t swallow the snot and boogers. Yuck! The concept is a little odd but it works SO well. They sell it on Amazon. Give it a shot, moms!

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Screen Shot from FridaBaby at: http://www.fridababy.com/shop/nosefrida

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Postpartum Exercise

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After I got the ok from my doctor that I could start exercising again, I didn’t know where to begin. Part of me just wanted to sink into the couch and take a nap while the baby slept. But the other part of me also couldn’t wait to get up and get back in shape. I watched a lot of food network and munched on snacks all day long. I was always an active one, so seeing myself turning into a couch potato was an awakening moment for me. I had to do something about it. (I know taking care of a baby is super busy, but this post is about me, my emotional health and how exercising really turned things around)

Whether you choose to run, bike, swim, play tennis, yoga or whatever, I seriously recommend exercising. JUST DO IT. I didn’t realize I was turning into a couch potato. I was getting depressed because I didn’t have my pre-pregnancy body, couldn’t fit into my pants still, and didn’t have an event-filled calendar. I know it’s ridiculous to expect myself to fit into my pre-pregnancy pants just after 6 weeks, or care about how I looked but I realized I stopped taking care of myself. I care about the LO with all my love and energy but I forgot about ME. I decided its time to do something about it. I picked a gym and went to spin class 3 times a week.

Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t care what the scale said about my weight. I needed to gain my confidence back. I needed to take care of my mental and emotional health. I needed a quick mommy time out and spent some ME time. After a month of this schedule, with such great understanding and help from my husband of taking care of the LO, I could now fit into my jeans! But most importantly, I am much more positive, believe in myself again that I CAN if I put my mind to it. Exercising gave me back my self confidence.

What did you do to stay positive during postpartum?

Dealing With Morning (or All Day!) Sickness

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Says who pregnancy nausea was only in the morning? It was ALL DAY sickness for me. The moment I got up, I felt like throwing up. Then I had these weird cravings, I would eat, and then I wanted to throw up again. I never actually threw up but the feeling was constant throughout the day. Sometimes I wish I could just gag and get everything out of my system because I would actually feel better. The nausea lasted the entire first semester and got dramatically better when second trimester rolled around. But, regardless of duration, feeling sick was no fun!

With a full time job, feeling sick was not acceptable for me. I could barely function and many times I would just close my door in the my office and take a nap in hopes the nausea would go away. I realized the trick to this whole sickness (at least for me) was my food intake. Ironic, huh? I realized this is the cycle: Feeling hungry? If I didn’t eat, the nausea would get worse. When the nausea is worse, I wouldn’t want to eat. The cycle kept going. The trick was to respond to the initial hunger cue from my body: EAT something. What’s something? I was so turned off by a host of my former favorite foods unfortunately so these were the foods I turned to. They became my best friends and I never leave the house without them (#1-3) in my purse:

1. Saltine Crackers – They are the cure for all sickness. I would eat at least 5 crackers and they stayed down in my stomach really well.
2. Sparkling Water/Ginger Ale – They make me burp and burp and when I burp, I feel better. (Sorry TMI)
3. Sour Candies – Any kind of sour candies will kick nausea’s butt real fast.
4. San Pellegrino Sparkling Fruit Beverages – Any flavors will do. This was (still is) the afternoon pick me up. The tartness and bubbles were so soothing.
5. Carbs – I would try to eat as much carbs as possible during my lunch break because they gave me more energy to last throughout the day. I was gaining weight anyway, (ok check with the doctor first on your weight gain goal) so it didn’t matter.

What are some of your tricks to the morning/all day sickness?

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Schedule vs. On Demand Feeding

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Many people have their own view on when to feed their newborn. Some say you should be on your A-game at all times and feed the baby whenever you detect the “hungry cues”. Some say you should feed the baby on a schedule around the clock. After trying both, my hubby and I decided to put our little one on a schedule and stick to it. I know it doesn’t work for every baby but for us? We’re very blessed: putting our little one on a schedule is a SUCCESS. This is how we did it.

Why did we let go of the “hungry cues” detection game: Our little one has a mind of her own and has decided to do reverse psychology on us. Her definitions of things are a little different: “eating her hand” = please change my diaper and “sticking her tongue out” along with a few cries = please hold me. Some also advise only feed your baby when baby is awake with her eyes open, alert and focused. Well, if that’s the case our little one will never eat because she loves to close her eyes and enjoys her meal. We then realized the conventional method of “hungry cues” won’t work for us.

Our little one is truly a product of me and my husband because we’re extreme planners! After we put her on a schedule starting at 6 weeks of age, we notice these changes:

* Less fussy and much more calm.
* Sleeps better at and through night with a minimum 6 hours straight! (this is a huge win for all of us)
* Soothes herself and falls asleep on her own. We don’t give her a pacifier.
* Predictable nap time
* Awake for at least 60-90 minutes after nap

This is our S C H E D U L E:

{Feeding every 2.5 hours: 5:30am, 8:00am, 10:30am, 1:00pm, 3:30pm, 6:00pm, 8:30pm, 10:00pm. Total 8 feedings which is within the recommended range for newborn. Takes about 20-25 minutes per feeding. Wets about 10 diapers a day with 2 poopy diapers.}

5:30 am: Eat, back to sleep (My husband is awesome. He wakes up for this shift and gives our LO a bottle while I sleep in a little more. We give our LO a bottle once a day and it’s during this shift.)

8:00 am: Eat, awake (We usually skype/facetime with our family during this time. Our little one is the happiest and most alert during this period. We can catch lots of smiles and different sounds!)

10:30 am: Eat, awake until ~11:30 am, nap

1:00 pm: Eat, nap (This is our LO’s longest nap when she sleeps for 2.5 hours straight. She will keep sleeping if I don’t wake her but I do wake her up for the next feeding)

3:30 pm: Eat, awake for 20 minutes or so, back to nap.

6:00 pm: Eat, awake for an hour or so, and doze off (My husband will put her in the bjorn and she will get really sleepy, just dozing off though, not deep sleep yet)

8:30 pm: Eat, awake, starts to get sleepy around 9:30 pm

10:00 pm: Last feeding, put her down in the crib, turn on the sheep noise machine, and peace out!

Of course, this won’t work when our LO is on a growth spurt and throw the schedule out the window. With us, growth spurts usually lasted about 3 days so once that was over, we went back to this 2.5 hour feeding schedule. I know it doesn’t work with every family because it really takes a lot out of you (the LO really rules over your schedule). But for us, it makes things a whole lot easier because she sleeps through the night (Yes!) and we can somewhat plan things around her feeding schedule.

What has worked for you?

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Car Seats and Stroller Selection nightmare

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When it was time to pick the car seats and strollers for the little one, I was so overwhelmed. Am I the only one? We made the mistake of going to Babies “R” Us without doing any homework/research (Big. Mistake) and became extremely stressed and walked out the store empty handed but a headache. How could there possibly be so many choices for each item? We learned our lesson and did some homework when we got home.

Baby Bargains saved our lives. This book does all the research for you on all popular/common baby items. Not only does it describe each product extensively, it also evaluates the item’s safety, pros and cons, and gives the product an overall rating (A, A-, B+, B, B- and so on). We basically narrowed down our choices to only the A and A- items which made it so much easier.

What did we end up buying? Infant Carrier Car Seat, Convertible Car Seat and a Stroller.

1. Graco SnugRide 35 Infant Car Seat: This car seat was advertised to be one of the “lightest” among the industry, weighing only 7.5 lbs or so. However, I learned that “lightest” also means when you don’t have the padding, infant insert, canopy, and all the “add-ons”. It’s considered the “lightest” with the car seat shell itself. I know, it was a little deceiving but I fell for it. Honestly, when the baby weighs 10+ lbs, a pound or two from the car seat really doesn’t make much of a difference anymore. I will recommend this car seat because it has an A for safety, and is easy to click into and unclick out of the base (Classic Connect). The canopy is to move around and is large enough to block out the sun and the wind. It comes in beautiful colors. I like the carrier style because it is easy to transport a sleeping baby in and out of the car, allows her to have a “seat” when we are at the doctors or visiting a friend and fits in most shopping carts (grocery stores, Target, Walmart, etc).

2. Chicco Nextfit Convertible Car Seat: We only bought the carrier to start with but then we realize we can only then use my car to take the baby with us. We wanted the flexibility with our cars so we had to buy another car seat for my husband’s car. (I was told by a mom of 3 that the car seat marathon purchase never ends. so. true). Since we already have the infant carrier and it is only good up to 2 years old, we might as well buy a car seat that can last a few more years (both rear and forward facing). We ended up choosing Chicco’s first convertible car seat: Nextfit. I am very impressed with its high quality materials and multiple reclines. It comes with an insert for infant support, has a sturdy structure, beautiful design, 3 color choices, comfortable padding and doesn’t feel like a gym bag. Because our cars are quite small, we found this car seat relatively smaller compared to other brands. This is a new car seat that just came out this year (2013) and has not been rated by Baby Bargains; however, many reviews on Amazon, Babies “R” Us have very good ratings (4.6/5 or above). It is also priced reasonably (~$280). We bought it at Buy Buy Baby with a 20% coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond. Good deal!

3. Baby Jogger City Mini Single Stroller: We really struggled on this one. We kept asking ourselves what do we really want vs. need? A travel system will be great for travel? The BOB will be great for jogging? Is there a stroller that can collapse in seconds so we can get through airport security quickly? Does it weigh a ton? How much running will I really do with the baby? Do I need an adapter for the carrier? How long can this stroller last? I was going nuts. After thinking it through and had many discussions with the hubby, we realized the most important things to us are: a stroller that’s easy to use and can collapse quickly, smooth on grass and sidewalk, can withstand relatively tough weather conditions, does not look like a space ship and last for several years. We believe City Mini hit all the items on our wish list so we went for it!

How did you choose your gears for your little one? This exercise was not easy!

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Meal Preparation Before the Big Day!

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Since our baby was breech, we had a scheduled C-section. Being an extreme planner, having the big day marked on our calendar was a very beautiful thing. It allowed my hubby and I to PLAN. One of the best preparation work we did was cooking up a storm and froze several meals. This way, when we came back from the hospital, we didn’t have to bust out the pans and pots and cook.

My favorite dish was Super Simple Carrot Soup from “Stone Soup Made Easy”. It was such a simple and stress free recipe that tasted WONDERFUL. It only required 5 ingredients (carrots, onions, tomatoes, chilli flakes and soy sauce). We poured the soup into 1 serving, 2 servings and 4 servings containers. We let the soup cool and then put them in the freezer.

I noticed the soup takes about 4 hours to thaw at room temperature. When we were ready to eat the soup, we poured the soup in a pot, added salt and pepper to taste and brought it to boil. There were times I was very lazy and just poured the soup in a bowl and microwaved it. Either way it saved us time and allowed us to have a healthy meal.

Another tip that I would give is: buy disposable utensils and plates (you may now roll your eye). I know it is very un-environmental friendly but we didn’t have the time, motivation or energy to do dishes. After we finished the meal, we threw everything away and didn’t have to do dishes. This extra expense took away the stress and obligatory chore from both of us. People say you can just let the house and kitchen go and have a dirty house; however, if there is a way to prevent additional chaos and chores, then why not give it a try? : )

What is your favorite preparation work before the big day?

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What is in your Go-Bag? Part 2

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After staying in the hospital for 4 days and 3 nights, we definitely overpacked our go-bag but also forgot to bring a few things. I wrote about the top 10 essentials (see What is in your Go-Bag? Part 1) and I thought it would be good to list out the top 5 things for the baby as well.

1. Outfits in NB and 0-3 months size: The hospital gave out swaddling blankets, hats that were beautifully knitted by volunteers, and a few outfits. However, I was not entirely sure which size would fit our little one best for the go-home outfit because the sizes for different brands vary so much. NB can be too small, 0-3 month can be just right, and etc. Our baby ended up wearing a 0-3 month full onesie and she weighed 6 lb 13 oz on that day.

2. Mittens: Our little one had long finger nails when she was first born. You don’t need to clip them yet because they’re so soft. You can simply peel the nail back (no, you won’t pull the whole nail off). But still, our LO ended up scratching her face in her sleep and it could be avoided by putting mittens on her. They got jazzy hands!

3. Folder, pen and post-it notes: There were a bunch of papers we ended up taking home for our baby. i.e. test results, discharge papers, prescription, appointment info to see the ped, birth certificate application info, etc. Hubby and I were running extremely low on sleep and we surely didn’t have the brain capacity to memorize anything. We didn’t want our important papers to be crumbled up in our duffle bag. Also, we found it very helpful to write down questions regarding the baby (as new parents, we had a million questions for things that matter and… don’t matter) for the rotating doctors/nurses who check you every 2-3 hours. Again, I had to write things down because I couldn’t remember anything when I was so exhausted.

4. Car seat: Ok, this doesn’t fit in the go-bag but you need it to go home. We didn’t go to the police station prior to make sure we installed the car seat (base in our case) correctly. On our discharge day, the valet at the hospital was able to double check everything for us. Make sure you get a second set of eyes to to check the car seat’s correct installation. Driving at 30 mph has never been so scary… with a newborn in the back seat.

5. Blanket: The hospital was blasting the AC in the lobby and the weather was cool on our discharge day. Babies need 1 extra layer of clothing compared to adults so having a blanket in the bag was convenient. Also helpful when the baby is in the car when the AC is on and we were sweating bullets trying to take the kiddo home…

What is in your Go-Bag? Part 1

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I was told I need to pack SO much stuff to the hospital; yet my doctor also said I don’t need anything because the hospital will have everything. So after staying at the hospital for 4 days and 3 nights, this is what I consider 10 essentials for the mom and dad. Please see separate post for baby!

1. lip balm: Thank you Burt’s Bee

2. hair tie: Keep my hair out of my face when I BF. I was surprised how much “looking down” at the baby I had to do.

3. mints: Lots of people came in and out of the room: nurses, doctors, residents, pediatricians, the kitchen stuff, housekeeping, and etc. They all wanted to talk to and check on me. I am sure they didn’t care but bad breaths bother me!

4. my iPad and charger: I know we are supposed to spend time with the baby, bond with the baby, shouldn’t be checking your e-mail, playing CandyCrush or checking Facebook. But believe me, there was actually some “downtime” as well. I was laying in bed recovering and couldn’t go anywhere. With my iPad, I was able to text our friends and facetime/skype with our family. It was so awesome because our family live far away. It was as good as it could be and felt like they were “there” with us.

5. flip flops: Walking barefoot in the room, bathroom floor and shower stall weren’t my favorite. I brought a pair of crappy flip flops so I didn’t have to walk on the floors barefoot and were able to just throw them away at the end of my stay!

6. glasses, contact lenses and contact solution: I was tired of looking tired with glasses. I was surprised how “refreshed” I felt after I put on my contacts!

7. a black maternity dress: I was also tired of looking like crap in the hospital johnny. I wasn’t trying to glamorous but by the 3rd day, I wanted to wear something else rather than flashing my butt when visitors were here. Black is also good because just in case you get the dress dirty, you can’t really see it.

8. snacks/energy drinks for the hubby: He was my #1 cheerleader and supporter. Don’t forget we need to keep our dear husbands alive too, or as awake as possible!

9. boppy BF pillow: BF was so hard at first. If BF was natural and not painful for you at the beginning, consider yourself very lucky! I was in pain but everyone in the world seemed to be telling me to start BF right away or else my baby will starve (they don’t actually because their stomach is like a marble when they are first born!). Anyway, I was able to put my baby on the pillow and alleviated some of the weight on my belly.

10. A big duffle bag: On the day of discharge, you are allowed to bring EVERYTHING in the room with you, including diapers, wipes, sleep sacks, BF pump parts (the hospitals gave us a manual pump), pads, etc. I surely appreciated the extra diapers I was able to bring home!

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